The Arrival of Friendly Deceit
by Heritor
Summary: Ever wonder what brought Ali and Rhett together, not just in the physical sense, but in terms of friendship? They once were in different herds, after all. Perhaps it was an ordinary meeting, or maybe, just maybe, Ali came across some friendly deceit..


**The Arrival of Friendly Deceit**

"What's the matter, dear?" a mother asked her daughter. "You've been hanging your head and remaining silent for quite a while now."

"I'm sorry, mother. I'm just so tired of being the only kid in this herd. I know that you and the Old One are the only female Long Necks here, but I just wish that there was a way of having more kids around."

Ali's mother nuzzled her gently. "I'm the one who's sorry, my little one. I shouldn't have let your father go scouting the area alone. If I'd only insisted he bring some of us along, he'd still be-" but then she stopped speaking, beginning to get choked up as she thought about her late husband.

Ali reared up and hugged her mother's leg.

"Don't stop walking you two. This is no place to be taking a rest. We'll come to a halt when we reach the lake that's not far from here," the Old One called back to them.

Ali stuck out her tongue, but her mother quickly put her leg in front of her so the Old One wouldn't notice it.

"Now, now, none of that, Ali. I know that she can be a bit overbearing, but she is our leader after all."

"Yes, mother."

"Would you like to ride for a bit?"

"Would I!" Her mother lowered her head and scooped Ali up in her lips, setting her down on her back.

The winds began to pick up, causing the few nearby trees to start swaying abruptly back and forth. The Old One sniffed the air. The weather was just going to get worse, she just knew it.

"We're picking up the pace," the Old One called to the others. They groaned, but she ignored them.

Ali clung tightly to her mother's back. The wind was getting strong enough to blow her off if she wasn't careful.

"We're nearly there," the Old One called back. Since she had turned to her followers for the announcement, she temporarily wasn't looking where she was going. A tiny dip in the ground caused her to stumble and she fell onto her side.

"Old One!" one of the males called out, rushing to help her up. When she tried getting back on her feet, she grimaced. She had managed to injure her ankle.

"It looks like we'll be stopping early after all. I need to rest my foot for a bit. It doesn't seem too serious, but I can't walk on it much right now. However, we should move away from these trees. I can limp just enough to get enough away from them. Come on." With that, the hobbling leader began moving away from all the trees in the area, and everyone followed her.

The winds were getting even more violent, and the Old One's fear came true. A large tree broke free from its roots and went hurdling through the air and was going to land on Ali's mother's back. She would have normally let it happen, as even a large tree would barely faze her strong body. However, she had a passenger…

She quickly jerked her head around so it took the full force of the wooden plant. Ali was saved, but the impact dazed her, and she stumbled to the ground. Ali jumped off right before she would have been crushed by her mother's body and started to panic.

"Mother? Mother? Mother!" she cried out.

Though her eyes were open, she did not respond to her daughter. The concussion was still in full effect. Three males stepped forward, each lowering his head against her back as they started pushing her against a cliff wall, well away from any more trees. Ali was ecstatic, but the Old One calmed her.

"She'll be just fine. A bump on the head injury doesn't last very long. Why, when I was a youngster like you, I fell off of a ledge and hit my head pretty hard. I was up and about within minutes."

"Thank you, Old One." Now Ali was feeling guilty about sticking her tongue out earlier.

After Ali's mother was safely situated, everyone else gathered around her and lied down. Ali went right beside her mom and cuddled beside her.

"Get some rest, little one," the Old One instructed. "There is no reason to stay up and worry. We'll look after her."

"Okay, I'll try."

As the young Long Neck tried to sleep, she was haunted by guilt. It increased her heart rate and made her restless. If she hadn't been on her mother's back, she wouldn't have had to move her head to protect her. Much as she found it hard to accept, her mother was hurt because of her. She clamped her eyes shut as hard as she could, but that only made it harder to fall asleep. Eventually, her list of reasons for being unable to rest increased. Loud noises could be heard not far from there. Dinosaurs were fighting.

Several of the males started to run in the direction of the action. The rest of them stayed with the Old One, Ali, and her mother.

Off into the distance…

"That's it! Drive these vicious Sharpteeth away!" an adult, male Long Neck was coaxing as he and two other males were fending off two grown Sharpteeth. One of the beasts lunged at one of the Long Necks, but he dodged, and the meat-eater ran head first into a cliff wall. The other Sharptooth leapt onto one of their backs and was about to bite down, but another Long Neck came over and head butted him off. It wasn't enough force to completely knock her off, but she soon lost her balance and tumbled off of the Long Neck. Before she could get up, another Long Neck slammed into her with his tail. She scooted back abruptly and managed to stand up. Her and her mate gave up the fight and started to run away. However, the herd of Long Necks wasn't about to abandon a fight where they had the upper hand.

They gave chase and two of them whipped their tails along the ground, knocking the two Sharpteeth down once again. They continued thumping their tails down with great force until the Sharpteeth no longer took breath. By then, the males from Ali's herd had caught up to them, but they quickly saw that their help was not required. When the two groups were gathered together, a discussion broke out between the adults. Eventually, the only child in the herd, a young boy, stepped forward and looked at the fallen Sharpteeth. He grinned deviously and climbed up one of them, starting to jump up and down on his chest.

"Cut that out, Rhett!" his father scolded.

"Aw, I'm not hurting anything, and he's dead, so there's no danger," he replied.

His father sighed. The fact that there was no danger was irrelevant. He told his son to do something so he should be doing just that. He wished his son was a bit more mindful of authority.

Little Ali couldn't take it anymore. She wanted to know what was going on around the bend ever so badly. Some adults were looking after her mother, she wanted something to get her mind off of her guilt, and was awfully curious, so she took off in the direction that those grown-ups had gone. When she finally arrived, she saw some members of her herd talking to some other Long Necks, but what _really _caught her attention was a young boy pouncing on a dead Sharptooth.

"What happened to these Sharpteeth?" Ali asked him. The boy was startled and nearly fell off. After regaining his footing, he slowly climbed down and came over to her.

"Oh, they were killed," he told her.

Ali wanted to roll her eyes. Obviously they were killed! But she remained polite and added, "Okay, but how?"

"Well, my herd-" but then he stopped. He hadn't met a Long Neck his age in a long time. He wanted to make a good impression. Instead of explaining that his herd killed them, he had another idea… "My herd was in terrible danger, so I took down those pesky Sharpteeth myself."

"How?" Ali asked, not sure whether or not if he was joking.

"Uh, well," he began, then eyed the cliff. "I climbed up on that cliff and jumped down on one's head. The force killed him right away. When you came by, you were watching me jump on him some more to make sure he was really dead."

"Wow! But, how did that other one die then?"

"Oh, right. Well, um, this huge tree was uprooted by the wind, and I saw it hurdling through the air. After jumping on this guy, I tail-whipped a rock at the other one, getting her attention, and when she came at me, she got right in the way of the tree, just as I had planned, and it took her out."

Ali was clearly impressed. She had never met a kid that could take out grown Sharpteeth.

"What is your name?" she asked the boy. "Mine's Ali."

"I'm Rhett." Then he paused. "Rhett the brave, scarer of the Sharpteeth."

Ali giggled at his grandiose title.

"It's nice to meet you, Rhett."

"I'll bet," he replied, putting on a heroic expression.

This time, Ali didn't hesitate to roll her eyes, but Rhett didn't notice. Just then, the adults stopped talking and approached the children. Rhett cringed slightly, hoping no one from his herd would say anything about the Sharpteeth fight. He had nothing to fear.

"Well, kids, we have some news," one of the adults from Ali's heard spoke up. "We're going to merge with this herd. It is relatively small, and they'd been hoping to increase in number someday."

"What does 'merge' mean?" Ali asked. Rhett wondered too but was glad that Ali had asked. He didn't want her to know that he didn't know something. His first impression was going perfectly.

"It means to combine, Ali," the adult replied. "We're all going to be migrating together from now on."

Both Rhett's and Ali's heart leapt for joy. They had always been the only child in their herd, and now, now they'd have someone their own age to play with. The lot of them started walking back to the others from Ali's herd. When they got back, Ali's face brightened all the more. Her mother was up and moving around. The Old One was right; she was fine.

"Mother!" she cried happily. She ran over, and her mother nuzzled her gently. Rhett walked over to them and Ali introduced him. "Oh! Mother, this is my new friend, Rhett. Him and his herd will be traveling with us from now on."

"Eh?" the Old One cut in. "What's this about others coming with us?"

The male who had explained things to Ali spoke to the Old One as well.

"We came across another herd, a small one, and both of our groups thought it best to merge."

"I see…" the Old One replied. Then she slowly walked over to him and got in his face. "Never, ever make a decision that big without talking to me first! I'm the leader of this herd, not you, not anyone else. You're fortunate that I've wanted to increase too."

"M-many apologies, Old One," he stammered.

Rhett shivered slightly. Something about that old Long Neck scared him. He's never seen an adult talk that way before, especially to another adult. He was going to have to be careful with her in charge.

The bright circle was nearly out of sight at this point, so any more traveling would have to be done quickly. The Old One turned to her old herd and the newcomers and said what was going to happen.

"There isn't much light left of the day. If we're going to get to that watering hole then find a safe place to rest, we need to keep moving now and at a brisk pace." The pain in the Old One's hurt ankle had been walked off, and so she started making way as the others followed.

Ali sighed. She hated when they moved quickly, as she had to nearly run to keep up. She didn't dare ask her mother to carry her for a while, as guilt still lingered in her heart. As they all started to move out, Rhett came over and walked beside her. Ali was relieved to have someone her age to talk to as they went along. Rhett started the conversation.

"That wasn't the first time I saved my herd from Sharpteeth, you know," he began. He had made a great first impression but didn't want the prestige he'd gained to stop there.

"Oh?" Ali replied, having genuine interest.

"Yeah. One time, my herd was being chased by a group of Fast Biters. At first, I didn't know how to save the others. But just then, a bolt of sky fire struck a tree and it burst into flames. So I went over, broke off a burning branch, and started running into that Fast Biter herd with the stick in my mouth."

"Wow! Were you afraid? What happened then?" Ali was really impressed.

"Well, I ran right into their group and started waving the branch around. Some of the cowered and backed up, but some tried to bite me. I flung the stick around and managed to burn most of them. Realizing they couldn't get to me with my fiery branch, they retreated, and my herd was saved. And no, I wasn't frightened at all."

"You're amazing, Rhett!"

"I know. Another time, my herd was walking through this deep ditch for some shade when we were attacked by a huge Sharptooth. They all started to run back, as there wasn't any place to climb out nearby. I, however, ran right through that Sharptooth's legs and continued moving forward as he chased my herd."

"Why would you do that?"

"Stop interrupting!"

"Sorry…"

"You see, there were puddles of water on the ground, so I just knew that this ditch used to be a deep river. Therefore, something must be blocking the water, and I was determined to get it flowing again. I finally found a large pile of rocks sitting on top of a fallen tree. I looked back and saw the last of my herd climbing out, and the Sharptooth wasn't far behind. There was a bunch of water stopped up on the other side, so I pushed and shoved on the pile and it finally broke free. Water began gushing out and it quickly started filling the ditch. By then, my herd was safely out, but as for the Sharptooth… He was swept away, never to bother us again."

Ali hesitated, not wanting to interrupt again, but unsure if he was finished speaking. After a few seconds, when he turned to her and grinned, she was certain that he was done and said what was on her mind.

"You have to be the bravest kid I know!" Ali exclaimed. "Tell me more, please! Your adventures are just so fascinating."

Rhett paused, struggling to think of another story. His imagination was getting really worn out. Thankfully, the herd finally came to a stop at a large lake, and Ali's thirst stole her attention away. She ran over and started lapping up water so fast until she hiccupped and started to cough.

"Easy there, Ali," her mother told her with a laugh. "The lake isn't going anywhere."

"Hee hee. Sorry mother. I just hadn't been this thirsty in a long time." Then she hiccupped once more.

"Today has been quite a day, dear. Both the Old One and I got hurt, we nearly doubled the size of our herd, and you made water give you hiccups instead of helping to make them go away." Both Ali and her mother giggled at that account.

Rhett had grown bored from listening to Ali and her mother chat. He had gotten a big drink of his own and finally walked over to them, eyeing Ali as if he had something on his mind.

"Oh, mother, before we move on again, may I play with Rhett?"

"Of course, dear. Have fun."

Ali trotted over to Rhett and gave him a smile.

"Ready to play?" she asked him.

Rhett tried to be cool about it.

"I don't play with kids I don't know, but now that we're in the same herd, I'll be getting to know you whether I like it or not, so I guess so."

Ali grew silent. She wasn't sure if he was trying to be funny or if he was being rude, so she ended up just replying with an short, awkward laugh before they moved a little ways away from the herd.

"What shall we play?" she asked him.

Rhett paused in contemplation. He had rarely even spent time with other kids, so his knowledge of games was rather limited. Tag isn't much fun with two dinosaurs, and there weren't enough places to hide in this area for hide and seek. Then it dawned on him.

"Let's play rescue."

"How do you play? I've never heard of that."

Rhett was making this up as he went along, so he hoped he would end up with a good idea.

"You pretend to be being attacked by Sharpteeth, and then I'll come over, and then we'll make believe I'm taking them out."

"Sounds like fun!"

Rhett let loose a sigh of relief.

"Okay, now move a little ways away and shout for help, but not too loudly, or else the grown-ups will think you're really in trouble and might get mad."

"Got it!"

Rhett moved behind a tree as Ali stepped farther away from the herd.

"Ah, help me!" she cried. She muffled her voice slightly so the shout wouldn't be heard too far away.

"Don't worry, I'll save you!" Rhett exclaimed. He ran over and reared up then swung his tail around over and over.

"Nice job, but here comes a Fast Biter!" Ali continued to role play.

"Not a problem!" Rhett replied as he rammed his head into thin air. Then he turned around and stood on his front feet, kicking his two back legs up.

"Ooh, you got that Fast Biter good!"

"Of course I did! I'm Rhett the brave, scarer of the Sharpteeth!"

"Uh oh, two Flying Sharpteeth are heading our way!"

Rhett grinned. "She's good at this," he thought to himself.

He started wiping his tail along the ground then moved away and repeated.

"What are you doing?" Ali asked him.

"I'm gathering a pile of rocks. Those Flying Sharpteeth won't know what hit them!" He then started whipping his tail around abruptly.

"Yay, you got one!" Ali cried in delight.

"Now for the other one. I'll smack two rocks at him at once!" Rhett pulled his tail back and let loose so hard that the air made a whooshing sound.

"Wow, you got him with both rocks! Nice shot, Rhett."

"Why thank you."

"Kids?" a voice called from the lake.

"Yes, mother?" Ali asked back.

"The Old One says it's time to find a sleeping place for the night. It's getting pretty dark."

"Okay, coming!" Ali replied.

The two of them ran back to the herd, and they all started moving again. They didn't go far though. They soon came across a small group of trees growing near a cliff wall. The adults immediately began settling themselves in, finding a comfortable spot that wasn't too close to anyone else. Rhett started to go to his father's spot, but Ali stopped him.

"Thanks for the great time," she told him, and nuzzled him slightly before laying down beside her mother. Rhett stood there a moment, his face's redness being hidden by the lack of light. Then he shook his head abruptly to return to his senses and went to sleep by his father.

Several weeks went by. The two children played rescue everyday, and while Rhett was enjoying it more and more, Ali had begun losing interest in it. He continued to awe her with stories about how he saved his herd, but as he began running out of ideas, his imagination started getting wilder and wilder, and so his tales began getting less and less realistic. Nonetheless, Ali hung on his every word. She loved to have finally found someone her age that could keep her company on her migrating journey, and her elation kept her from even considering to challenge Rhett's accounts. One day, the Old One had an announcement.

"Everyone, I have made a decision. We'll be spending a little time in the Great Valley. I'd like to visit with our cousins."

Ali's eyes widened. She'll get to see Littlefoot again! Then she frowned. "Rhett doesn't like playing with kids he doesn't know," she remembered. "I hope everything goes okay when Rhett meets the others. Oh, what am I saying? I'm sure it'll be fine."

_Little did Ali realize that that visit wouldn't be as pleasant as she had thought it would be, as tensions will rise, and her eyes will be opened for the first time about what her new friend Rhett is really about…_

Author's note: To find out what happens to Rhett and Ali as they meet up with Littlefoot and his friends in the Great Valley, simply watch the episode "The Brave Longneck Scheme." This story is just a prequel to that.

**Thank you for reading. The Land Before Time and all affiliated characters belong to Universal Cartoon Studios.**


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